Director of Learning & Development

Innovative Dining Group•West Hollywood, CA

About The Position

Innovative Dining Group (IDG) is seeking a strategic, culture- and hospitality-driven Director of Learning & Development to lead companywide training, leadership development, hospitality standards, and operational training across its restaurant portfolio. This field-focused role builds the training foundation to develop employees, strengthen service, support restaurant operations, and ensure IDG standards are trained and consistently executed. Regular travel to all restaurant locations is required. The Director will build and lead IDG’s training function, establishing the programs, standards, and processes that develop employees and create a consistent hospitality experience across the organization. The role owns and strengthens new restaurant opening training, management and employee onboarding, leadership development, operational service standards, SOPs, and ongoing team development. The Director works across Human Resources, Operations, Culinary, and restaurant leadership to translate IDG’s culture, standards, and hospitality expectations into practical training and development experiences. The role also builds companywide training infrastructure, maintains training materials and learning paths, supports restaurant technology adoption, and oversees required compliance and standards training. In partnership with Operations and other leaders, the Director co-leads new restaurant opening project management, monitors readiness and training execution, and provides hands-on support during opening and post-opening periods. Regular restaurant visits, coaching, audits, and field observations are central to the position.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive experience in hospitality, restaurant leadership, training and development, or a related field.
Deep understanding of IDG’s culture, hospitality standards, restaurant operations, and leadership expectations, with the ability to translate that knowledge into meaningful training and development.
Ability to assess training and development needs through observation, business performance, employee feedback, and partnership with restaurant leadership.
Experience building and implementing training programs, SOPs, service standards, onboarding programs, and leadership development initiatives across multiple locations.
Experience leading or supporting new restaurant openings, including training, onboarding, readiness, and cross-functional coordination.
Strong understanding of restaurant hospitality and ability to translate brand and service expectations into clear, practical training.
Experience developing and coaching restaurant leaders, with an understanding of people management, communication, and leadership development.
Strong project management, facilitation, communication, and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.
Experience with restaurant technology and operational systems, and ability to learn and train teams on new platforms.
Ability to build sustainable training processes and infrastructure that can evolve with organizational growth.
Strong field presence and willingness to spend significant time in IDG restaurants and travel regularly across locations.

Nice To Haves

Multi-unit restaurant experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead IDG’s companywide training strategy for managers and hourly team members.
Design, implement, and evaluate training programs based on business needs, role expectations, and identified development gaps.
Build and maintain training materials, manuals, SOPs, job aids, checklists, and position-specific training programs.
Establish consistent training standards across locations while incorporating concept-specific requirements.
Develop and maintain the Certified Trainer Program and Manager Certification Program; assess their effectiveness and refresh them as needed.
Evaluate training effectiveness through field observation, feedback, completion data, and performance results, and promote continuous learning.
Develop and maintain hospitality and service standards in partnership with Operations; translate IDG’s culture and service philosophy into practical programs.
Develop and implement service benchmarks, steps of service, and standards testing across concepts.
Visit restaurants to observe service and training execution, coach teams, provide feedback, and identify service or hospitality gaps and solutions.
Own training and development components of employee and management onboarding, including orientation, training plans, welcome materials, and role-specific development.
Develop individualized training and development plans for new management hires with General Managers, VPs of Operations, and Human Resources.
Oversee 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins for new managers with HR and restaurant leadership.
Develop leadership training in coaching, communication, performance management, accountability, employee engagement, and team development.
Partner with HR and Operations to identify and develop high-potential employees and future leaders; support career development through cross-training, certification, task force assignments, and other opportunities.
Co-lead a structured leadership development program with the VP of Human Resources.
Build companywide training infrastructure, including programs, processes, standards, resources, training requirements, learning paths, and consistent delivery, tracking, and evaluation processes.
Partner with Operations and other departments to maintain SOPs, training manuals, job aids, checklists, and position-specific materials.
Implement, train teams on, and support new and existing restaurant systems and technology, including adoption, troubleshooting, and integration into operations.
Own required compliance and standards training, including harassment prevention, discrimination prevention, and other applicable requirements.
Partner with Marketing on training and compliance related to marketing standards, brand requirements, and applicable marketing practices.
Oversee quarterly audits of required licenses, certifications, and training completion, including ServSafe, TIPS, food handler certifications, and other applicable credentials.
Co-lead new restaurant opening project management with the VPs of Operations, VP of Construction, and VP of HR, focusing on people, training, and operational readiness.
Lead weekly new restaurant opening meetings, establish priorities, track deliverables, address challenges, and maintain the opening timeline via Asana.
Develop and maintain opening timelines, milestones, training plans, and readiness checklists; ensure deadlines and deliverables are met.
Own management onboarding, team member orientation, and operational training for pre-opening readiness.
Partner with Operations and Culinary to ensure staffing, training, service standards, SOPs, and operational requirements are in place before opening.
Support Friends & Family and other opening events to evaluate readiness, service execution, and training needs; provide hands-on support during opening and post-opening periods and incorporate lessons learned into future planning.
Maintain a regular presence in IDG restaurants to lead training, coach leaders, observe service, and evaluate training execution.
Conduct regular restaurant training and standards audits, document findings, and establish follow-up actions with restaurant leadership.
Partner with General Managers, VPs of Operations, Culinary leaders, and HR to address training and development opportunities.
Identify recurring training gaps across locations and develop organization-wide solutions.
Provide HR and Operations leadership with insights and recommendations based on field observations, training results, and leadership development needs.